During surgical procedures, it is standard practice for sanitary reasons to drape the patient with a sheet or surgical drape exposing only the surgical field. In the case of eye surgery, this means that the drape extends over the patient's face and thus the nose, mouth and other eye. The patient, under a local anesthetic, is apt to experience a feeling of claustrophobia, and feel anxiety about and actually experience difficulty in free breathing. The nature of surgical drape material can be such that it is prone to cling and closely conform to the body parts thus to enhance the unpleasant sensations encountered when draped over a patient's face.
Various devices have been proposed for spacing the surgical drape above the patient's face. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,530,515 to Jacoby issued Sept. 29, 1970, which shows a device requiring special equipment on the operating table for attachment thereto. U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,544 to Uffenorde, issued Oct. 17, 1967 also shows a device for elevating the surgical drape above the face of the patient during eye surgery.